Amicus Curia Dani, that’s as I suspected, though nobody asked for your sympathy for anything. You conflate your personal biases with the need for transparency in public affairs, public events, and public NGO’s such as POWER. POWER has received public/government funding. It attempts to address issues that affect the entire community as well as those unique to the poor and homeless. Frankly, I have little sympathy for those who do not grasp the need for transparency in the meetings/events held by the same to discuss/present proposed solutions or simply to announce the status quo such as is scheduled @ Darby’s Cafe in Olympia. (What’s up with the new Health Care Reform law now that it’s in effect.) Despite how important that issue is to the entire community, especially the poor, I decided I couldn’t cover it because I don’t want to waste my time and go to the expense of showing up to a meeting held for that purpose where a reporter has to seek permission from EVERYBODY (100% consensus) to be allowed to record the presentation.
Like I said, I’m certain (because I’ve witnessed them) Monica and POWER will be able to find reporters that will seek the approval of those subjects they are covering. I’m not one of them. If I’m covering a story, I do NOT feel bound to get the permission of the subject(s) I’m reporting on unless it is intended for commercial purposes. The misapprehension of many that such is required has permeated onto the streets. Photojournalists are challenged (or worse) for merely walking down the street with a camera. Your ‘personal boundaries’ in public venues are much more limited than they might be in a private venue, at least in law. You should know that if I, or another photojournalist sees you in a public setting and decides your photograph or video is newsworthy, I/they are likely to capture it with/without your consent.
You might have noticed (if you ride them) the public transit buses capture your image, video, and conversations WITHOUT your consent as well and over any objections you might raise. Their argument is you’ve given implied consent by boarding the bus. Of course, children, by definition, can give no implied consent as a matter of law. But it’s easier to ‘pick’ (as you put it) on a citizen journalist than it is to take on the power of government and the mob. Your sympathy, one way or the other, is neither here nor there. I will continue to record what I can see, hear, taste, smell, or feel in public venues/spaces if I believe it’s newsworthy precisely because it eliminates challenges to my competence, memory, or veracity, and beyond that, is a matter of personal safety.
You might want to read the following link for one detailed explanation of why conversations, images, and video are recorded in public spaces/venues (buses) WITHOUT ‘consent’:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_syn_93.pdfI, for one, support the need for bus drivers to have such recordings made and follow suit myself. I suspect you’d be ‘unsympathetic’ to that were I to do so even on a public transit bus where you’re being recorded anyway. It’s always easier to ‘pick’ on the low hanging fruit. Now, bus drivers have had their assailants prosecuted with the help of these recordings. I envy their capacity to hold those miscreants accountable. So, you, et ux, can add ‘personal safety/boundaries’ to the list of reasons I cite for documenting what happens at public meetings and in public venues. I don’t make exceptions. For an educated woman, you seem bizarrely uncomfortable with the idea that privacy (at least in public) is dead. Get over it!
-amicuscuria.com/wordpress-
ps: If Scott Yoos had had the benefit of such an audio recording the night he was accosted by Olympia police, he wouldn’t be in the legal jam he’s in now. I, for one, believe he’s innocent. PROVING that has been difficult for him. I made the mistake of not taking my own advice in 2011 while accommodating a disabled young mother in Thurston Co. Fortunately, I was able to prevail by representing myself. I will NOT make the same error (not documenting everything in a public venue such as a courthouse hallway) again. The old Greek adage applies here: “Even the gods cannot protect a fool from his/her folly.” It is not only foolish, but idiotic today not to be prepared to document what happens while you are in public. People and public officials lie routinely. I should post one such occurrence not so long ago. I need to think about how newsworthy it is. It happened in the Shelton DSHS lobby, a venue POWER itself may be familiar with. The office manager challenged my right to take photographs of signs posted in that public space, called the cops. When the cop showed up, we recognized each other, shook hands, and the cop basically informed the State apparatchik that I was within my rights. He also informed me I could continue to do so as long as I wasn’t being ‘disruptive’ or interfering with their function. Your biases on this issue are old hat for me. Another incident occurred at a Scottish festival in the State park by Bellfair (Hood Canal area on the Kitsap Peninsula). An older gentlemen collapsed during the event in this public park. I began to take some pictures as the medics attended him lying on the ground. Some (perhaps your cousins?) began to object to my taking the pictures, which I considered to be a newsworthy event (the speed of the medics response to the emergency, etc.). I ignored them. Shame on me, but that’s how it is. I’m not covering stories to make friends, but to tell what I see, hear, etc. for public consumption as a news piece.
